Summary of “Description” Questions




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IELTS Speaking - Mat Clark

 
Summary of “Description” Questions
 
Most candidates will probably be asked at least one description question. This 
question is often one of the first questions in Part One. By producing style of answer we 
have just seen, the candidate is focusing on the marking system criteria and not 
―answering‖ the question. We have not looked at any vocabulary for any of the individual 
topics or questions – this can be found in the section on topic-specific vocabulary later in 
this book.
 
1.3.
 
Question Type 2: ―Liking‖ 
A very common type of question sin Part One is the ―liking‖ questions. For 
example: ―Do you like animals?‖ 
As an examiner I have asked this style question hundreds of times. A common 
response might be something like: 
―Yes, I like animals. I like cats and dogs because they are very lovely.‖ 
If you have read and understood what has been written so far in this book, you 
should be starting to see the problems with this answer. This answer lacks all the features 
common in native-speaker style English. The answer focuses 100% on content. 
Expressing likes and dislikes is actually quite a large area of the English language 
and as a result there is a wide range of language available to express these functions. 
When the examiner asks, ―Do you like animals?‖, your answer should display some 
ability to express these functions using a range of appropriate language. 
―I like‖ and ―I don't like‖ do not display any ability to skillfully or flexibly express 
these functions. In most cases, the examiner probably used ―like‖ or ―don't like‖ in the 
question, so candidates who use these words are simply recycling the question words in 
the form of a statement. 
For these questions, the first step is to find some alternative language for ―liking‖. 
The following expressions can be used for all general topics: 
I'm fairly/ pretty keen on... 
I'm really into... 
I'm quite a big fan of... 
I simply adore... 
I'm quite enthusiastic about... 


Mat Clark – IELTS Speaking 
34
I generally prefer...(use only when comparing) 
Most of the adverbs are interchangeable in this list. 
One advantage of the IELTS vocabulary marking system is that if you use an 
uncommon word incorrectly or in the wrong context, you will still get some credit for 
trying to use the word. 
For example, if a candidate said: 
―I'm quite enthusiastic about Korean food.‖ 
Compare it with: 
―I like Korean food.‖ 
Native-speaker wouldn't normally use the word ―enthusiastic‖ to describe food, but 
the first sentence is better than the second because it attempts to use an uncommon 
vocabulary item (quite enthusiastic). 
So don't be afraid to use any of the words from the list – they are all worth more to 
your score than ―I like‖ or ―I enjoy‖. 
We return to the question: ―Do you like animals?‖ The aim of our answer is to use 
about 3 or 4 ―liking‖ expressions. 
Look at the following answer: 
―Well to be quite honest, in general I would say that I'm actually quite keen on 
animals, but in particular I would probably have to say that I'm really into domestic pets 
like dogs. I guess the reason why I'm a fan of dogs is because I adore their loyalty and 
companionship. In addition to dogs I suppose I'm also pretty passionate about endangered 
species, especially dolphins and things like that and this is due to the fact I feel some 
degree of responsibility towards wildlife protection.‖

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